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The discussion over there was whether S3 is another simulation, or whether the timeline was actually resent so that Eleanor, Tahani, Jason and Chidi never died but were given a second chance to earn their spot in the good place when they actually die. I’m leaning towards the latter based on the way the characters have been talking (like Eleanor losing points for blaming the chair for her farts) but could easily see it go the other way too.

Another suggestion that was made in the other thread was that the Judge is running this as a simulation but Michael and the Bad Place demons think it’s real.

We could get a clearer idea next week considering where last episode left off with Michael wanting to reset again and the group discovering him and Janet

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I think the show-runner has said that it's real, and not just another simulation.

I'm glad the last episode ended up with the group catching Janet and Michael mid-portal opening, because the whole "study group" bit just hasn't been quite as interesting as stuff in earlier seasons.

The beauty of the show is that it tends to mix things up just as you're getting used to it. S2 I was sure was going to be a rerun but straightaway they established that they'd ran thousands of simulations.

I think I'd prefer that the humans haven't really been given a second chance just because that seems a really big deal for what are essentially 4 mediocre/failed people. Why should they get second chance over everyone else? I actually think the focus is now on Michael and possibly Janet. I think higher management are actually intrigued how a demon (and possibly a Janet) could become good/human from their interaction with the human subjects. So this is possibly just a simulation to see whether Michael can become good? Ultimately, I guess there's nothing stopping them from rewinding actual reality several times. If this is them returned to life I'd actually like to see them die and go to the real good place.

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I'm glad the last episode ended up with the group catching Janet and Michael mid-portal opening, because the whole "study group" bit just hasn't been quite as interesting as stuff in earlier seasons.

I think it was fine for a few episodes, but the scenario seemed a bit limited compared to the premise of the earlier seasons.

2 hours ago, red snow said:

If this is them returned to life I'd actually like to see them die and go to the real good place.

I think it would make sense to show the genuine Good Place at some point.

However, I'm not sure I'd like the end of the show to be Eleanor and the others getting into the Good Place for real. The whole system is horrifically flawed, so an ending that was happy for the four of them but left the status quo otherwise intact would feel a bit unsatisfying. Even in the first season when she thought she was in The Good Place Eleanor was pointing how badly flawed it was, so I wonder if the long-term place might be for them to bring down or reform the Good Place/Bad Place system.

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I think there's a Higher Purpose going on secretly that even the Good Place/Bad Place denizens don't know about. Jason-Tahani and Eleanor-Chidi were set up as soul-mate pairings so they would torture each other, but . . . maybe they actually are soul-mates?

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The latest episode is totally brilliant. From jacked Chidi randomly walking around shirtless to Tahani giving away money and the lollipop sequence to the absurdity of the timeline, it's all awesome.

And Eleanor's eventual decision - to choose to be good even knowing that there is no reward for her, but there is reward for others - is pretty remarkable, both for her and for the show as a direction. I don't know if that means she's going to attempt to teach everyone what the rules actually are, or she realizes she can't because that will corrupt their reasoning, or what - but it's interesting.

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Also, my thoughts are that the manifesto is going to be a big MacGuffin coming up, as it represents the entirety of the actual true nature of the world - and if the world finds out, then by its rules not a single person alive can go to the Good Place ever again (or at least earn points past where they are). It is an ethical doomsday device for the story, and I think they're going to bring it up again.

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Also, my thoughts are that the manifesto is going to be a big MacGuffin coming up, as it represents the entirety of the actual true nature of the world - and if the world finds out, then by its rules not a single person alive can go to the Good Place ever again (or at least earn points past where they are). It is an ethical doomsday device for the story, and I think they're going to bring it up again.

That seems really plausible, considering that they just left it sitting on the desk right there. It's going to end up on the Internet somehow or something. If they corrupt the whole system, does everyone go to the bad place automatically?

Also, Jeremy Bearimy as an explanation for the atemporal nature of the pleroma was hilarious in a way that I couldn't even intelligibly explain to my wife as we were watching.

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Michael still has the key that allows them to enter the afterlife, and do so in a way that is pretty absurdly powerful. I don't think that it is quite as dangerous to the universe as the manifesto is, but I can see it easily being the key (heh) to the next season and how it ends.

(I also love how in Season 2 Tahani brings up the less famous Hemsworth brother as one of her namedrop things, and he's now a major character. I also love how the taxi driver's name on the show is Mark Supial. )

Edited October 19, 2018 by Kalbear

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Also, my thoughts are that the manifesto is going to be a big MacGuffin coming up, as it represents the entirety of the actual true nature of the world - and if the world finds out, then by its rules not a single person alive can go to the Good Place ever again (or at least earn points past where they are). It is an ethical doomsday device for the story, and I think they're going to bring it up again.

Didn't even think about this but I can absolutely see this happening. They'll have to break the rules somehow and this seems like the obvious way.

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The latest episode is totally brilliant. From jacked Chidi randomly walking around shirtless to Tahani giving away money and the lollipop sequence to the absurdity of the timeline, it's all awesome.

Broken Chidi was the best. Everybody else is completely lost at the Jeremy Bearimy, but Chidi gets it. “What the hell is this? The dot over the I. What the hell is that?...This broke me! The dot. Over the I. That broke me. I’m done.”

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Also, my thoughts are that the manifesto is going to be a big MacGuffin coming up, as it represents the entirety of the actual true nature of the world - and if the world finds out, then by its rules not a single person alive can go to the Good Place ever again (or at least earn points past where they are). It is an ethical doomsday device for the story, and I think they're going to bring it up again.

That's a great idea especially given the screen time the manifesto has been given. However if it's just that someone finds it are we not in a situation where it's like any religious text found by a prophet? It's something that irked me with chidi trying to break up with Simone - why would she believe in the afterlife based on his assertions? Michael and Janet would have to do something "divine" (but they've established their powers are missing/diminished) but even then it's no proof of an afterlife. Not even our central characters know there's an actual afterlife or hell because they can't remember (or technically never experienced now that they never died) it, they are just taking Michael and Janet's word for it based on a weird portal and the long explanation we thankfully didn't witness. It's a case of the show cashing in on what we've seen in the first two seasons and using it to fill in the gaps when that information/experience isn't available to the soul squad. They got away with it in season 2 but the cracks are a lot more apparent this season.

On 10/20/2018 at 5:16 PM, RedEyedGhost said:

Broken Chidi was the best. Everybody else is completely lost at the Jeremy Bearimy, but Chidi gets it. “What the hell is this? The dot over the I. What the hell is that?...This broke me! The dot. Over the I. That broke me. I’m done.”

He does it do well, and Eleanor is correct - he is ripped below that scholarly exterior.

Janet pretending to have her powers still was funny.

9 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

I feel like it’s falling apart. The plot and the purpose is getting so complicated it’s hard to follow the story as a whole from season 1 and for my taste it’s getting less funny.

I agree about the plot but I've found the jokes are still landing really well for me. I'd be concerned too if the story starts to get in the way of the laughs.

I feel tahani is floundering as a character. She seems to exist solely for her "like that time when (insert name drop)" and even the actor appears a bit bored of this. The next episode may focus on her a bit more to correct her course.

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I agree about the plot but I've found the jokes are still landing really well for me. I'd be concerned too if the story starts to get in the way of the laughs.

I feel tahani is floundering as a character. She seems to exist solely for her "like that time when (insert name drop)" and even the actor appears a bit bored of this. The next episode may focus on her a bit more to correct her course.

If i had to be concrete I’d say 50% of the humor lands for me. That’s still pretty good compared to other comedies, but the good place delivered better in previous seasons.

Agree about tahani, I really wish they’d do something about her. She was my favorite and it’d be a shame if they failed to make the most of such character.

Janet is still awesome though. And i’d Love to see what’s goinf on with the judge and the frog person doorman, they were huge.

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If i had to be concrete I’d say 50% of the humor lands for me. That’s still pretty good compared to other comedies, but the good place delivered better in previous seasons.

Agree about tahani, I really wish they’d do something about her. She was my favorite and it’d be a shame if they failed to make the most of such character.

Janet is still awesome though. And i’d Love to see what’s goinf on with the judge and the frog person doorman, they were huge.

I don't watch any other sitcoms of this style so I imagine it's still a cut above the rest. Otherwise I tend to stick to Always sunny and animated comedies but this show straddles between traditional sitcoms and high concept comedies like rick and morty and recent seasons of archer

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Humour and story still lands fine for me. I do think it’s a limited premise though so I hope it wraps sooner ather than later. I’d rather keep enjoying this tha;get to the stage where it’s stale

The pace of the show has been its saviour so far. But it does feel like their our only so many things you can do before it gets stale. The fact they apparently aren't even in the good place/afterlife for me feels a bit endgame to me

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some good character building with the latest episode and thankfully they gave Tahani something to do other than her usual schtick. The resolution to that story was quite touching. Eleanor's story was also good, particularly her legitimate reaction which reminded me of just how good Kristen Bell can be.

It does seem to be settling into a "saving other people's souls" routine now but it probably won't be long until another shake up occurs